CLEARFIELD – The ‘Wild West’ theme was in full swing at the 16th annual Anne S. Thacik Charity Auction Thursday night at the Knights of Columbus. Those in attendance were encouraged to have fun, bid high and enjoy.
The silent auction began at 6 p.m. with those in attendance bidding on a variety of things from Dairy Queen cake gift certificates, State College Spikes gear and Fullington Tour gift certificates. The silent auction had a total of 66 items.
During the hour and a half of silent auction bidding, there were also other opportunities to try a hand at winning various items.
One of the first opportunities was Charity Bingo, a square could be purchased and if your bidding number landed on specific squares there were prizes such as a 3G Kindle, a $50 Savings Bond, a $25 Jim’s Sports Center gift certificate and a $25 Retro Eatery gift certificate, among many others.
Another next chance to win big was by playing the Lucky Card Game. In the Lucky Card Game a card would be chosen out of the stack of 52. The winner of the Lucky Card Game received $50 and two steak dinners at Legends.
The live auction began at 7:30 p.m. with Pat Errigo and his helpers. Attendants bid on items such as Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Penn State, Altoona Curve and State College Spikes tickets. Other live auction items included Fullington trip to New York City, Washington DC Tours, footballs autographed by Joe Paterno, jewelry and television sets, among many others. A total of 78 items were auctioned during the live auction.
One of most expensive auction items of the evening was donated by Starr Hill Winery, and would give the winner the opportunity to blend and name a new wine and design the label. The winner would also be responsible to help market the selling of the wine. This item and experience went for $950 dollars during the auction. Last year’s wine, Atta Girl, sold out in three and a half weeks, said Ken Starr, owner of Starr Hill Winery. Ten percent of sales of the wine sold would be donated to the 2012 auction, Starr said. Starr also presented a check from the 2010 auction for $500 to The Friends Auxiliary of the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging.
At the end of the evening the 50/50 raffle was drawn, as well as the Experience of a Lifetime raffle. The Experience of a Lifetime winner was Cheryl Brown. Brown has her choice of picking one of four trips: Nascar Racing Experience, Sonoma VIP Wine Experience, New York Amazing Long Weekend and Sports Fan Getaway.
The auction named after the late Anne S. Thacik was a strong advocate for senior citizens across Pennsylvania. Thacik was instrumental in forming the Auxiliary to the Area Agency on Aging. She started the first Wreaths for Reasons and Seasons, which now is known as the Anne S. Thacik Charity Auction.